Ministry of External Affairs Secretary (Economic Relations) Sudhakar Dalela on Sunday said the countries invited for the BRICS outreach session were selected to ensure representation of key developing regions and to share the grouping’s work with wider Global South partners.
Speaking on the sidelines of the 18th BRICS Summit in New Delhi, Dalela said the focus of discussions during the summit was on ensuring that BRICS delivers outcomes and initiatives relevant to the Global South.
“I think one common thread in the discussion both yesterday and today was as to how BRICS can come up with outcomes and deliverables which are relevant for the Global South in general,” Dalela said.
He said that given the nature and membership of BRICS, it was decided to engage with leaders of developing country groupings from different regions.
“In that context, it is in that spirit, in terms of the BRICS grouping, nature of BRICS grouping and its membership, it was felt that perhaps it would be a good idea to reach out to other continents and invite the country Chairs of the developing country groupings such as ASEAN, African Union, CELAC in the Latin American and Caribbean region, and also Gulf Cooperation Council and BIMSTEC,” he said.
Dalela said representatives of these organisations were invited to understand and share what BRICS stands for and the initiatives being undertaken by the grouping.
“See and share with them what BRICS is all about, what we are doing within the BRICS grouping,” he said.
“We chose these few country Chairs of these organisations. BIMSTEC Chair was also invited, as I had mentioned earlier,” he added.
Earlier, Prime Minister Narendra Modi said that the trust of Global South nations in BRICS has grown as their voices are heard and solutions are developed with their participation.
Chairing the BRICS session on “Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability: Shaping the Future for Inclusive Global Growth”, PM Modi said India has advanced the spirit of friendship, partnership and cooperation through the BRICS platform.
“I can say from personal experience that the trust of Global South nations in BRICS has grown, because their voices are heard, their experiences are respected, and solutions are crafted not just for them, but with them,” PM Modi said.
He also highlighted initiatives on disaster management, MSME cooperation and environment, and said BRICS cooperation should not remain limited to governments but should include entrepreneurs, farmers, researchers, women, youth and ordinary citizens.
The 18th BRICS Summit, hosted by India under the theme “Building for Resilience, Innovation, Cooperation and Sustainability”, concluded with the adoption of the New Delhi Declaration.
The declaration covers issues including global governance, economic cooperation, trade, energy security, technology, climate change and reforms of international institutions.
(ANI)
